Lightspeed Rescue--A Different Look
by stargazer 1017
Summary: A different look at how Lightspeed should have gone--from the beginning *Slightly altered Ep. 1 and Ep 2 now up!*
1. Episode 1: A New Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue or any Power Rangers components. At this time, they belonged to Saban, but in the present, they belong to Disney.  
  
Author's notes: This is my take on how Lightspeed Rescue should have been written. I mean, I love Carter as much as the next gal, but PRLR was way too much Carter-centered. Of course, there'll be a lot of Carter moments, but I hope to expand on the lives of all the characters as well. I know, I think I've taken on too many Power Ranger series--I mean, I've still gotta finish the Extreme Challenge, and I'm going to finish my original PR series. . .whew. It'll just take a bit of time to get around to all of them, I guess. Please be patient with me!  
I warn you right now, when you read this fic, you might not get the next episode for awhile. I might update when I can, or when I feel like it. Most of the eps I'll be writing will have already featured on the show, but some facts will be my version of how it should've gone. Some episodes might be joined into one episode, to make it go faster. We'll see how this plays out.  
As always, please R&R. I always love getting comments--and I'd love for you to leave your e-mail addy so I can get back to you if needed.

I'll also post teasers on the messageboard, so check there too. Check my bio for the link.

Lightspeed Rescue: A Different Look  
Episode 1: A New Mission  
By: stargazer_1017  
  
  
  
"Yeah, I miss you too," the brown-haired young man said to the person the phone. "Things here? Slow. . ." Then he laughed. "You know I can't do that. . ."

"Hey Grayson!"

The brown-haired man snapped his head towards the voice. "You almost off the phone, Romeo? I'm waiting for some news here!" an African-American man about his age was standing a few feet away, with his arms crossed.

The brown-haired young man gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, Russ. I'm getting off now, okay?" he yelled back to his friend. Russ rolled his eyes, but he had a smile on his face. "Listen," the man said into the phone, "I've gotta go. Russel's waiting for word if his wife went into labor."

"All right, Carter," the voice said on the other line. "Take care, now, and I'll talk to you later. I love you."

"I love you too, Adrienne. Don't worry, I'm off duty in a couple of days. Then I'm coming home," Carter said, smiling over the phone. He said his farewell and got off the phone. Carter got up and walked to Russ, who had his eyebrow raised. Carter smiled sheepishly at his friend. "Sorry again about that," he apologized.

Russ nodded knowingly. "Is it hard on the girlfriend with you having this job?" he asked. Carter shrugged, taking a seat on a chair next to where Russ was standing. "Well, she's not too happy about me being a fireman, if that's what you're asking. Especially with that crazed arsonist running around Mariner Bay, Adrienne thinks I'm in a lot of danger," Carter admitted. He looked up at his friend. "Think she's got a point?"

Russel shrugged. "Well, my baby's worried about me everytime we put on our suits, but she understands my duties." He grinned. "Besides, she loves a man in uniform."

Carter smiled back. Adrienne loves that too, he thought inwardly. Just then, the phone rang and Russell stopped his conversation short and went running. Carter raised his eyebrows at the man as he watched him talk on the phone eagerly.

Carter heard a noise beside him and turned to see another fellow fireman, Trevor Williams. "Is that his wife?" Trevor asked Carter as he watched Russell on the phone. Carter shrugged. "I don't know yet."

Trevor shook his head and turned to Carter. "Better get to bed, Grayson. Heard about the arsonist?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he might strike at anytime. Might be in a couple of hours at midnight, or just before dawn, or during the day. Get some   
rest."

Carter nodded. "Whatever the psycho's gonna do, we'll be ready for him," he said as he got up.

"Yeah, I hope he got the message loud and clear," Trevor replied.

***

Three men in protective clothing against the sun dragged themselves forward across the desert. The tallest of the three  
groaned. "We have been wandering the desert for days," he said in Arabic. "There is nothing here."

"We mustn't give up now," another one said. "Surely, it is around here somewhere."

The taller man snorted. "A temple of treasure located deep in the desert. Who has heard of such a thing? This is a wild goose chase! That man who sold us the map is sending us to our deaths!"

The third man, who was walking ahead of the other two, turned around to insert his two cents into the conversation. "He  
seemed foreign, didn't he? His accent was. . .like an American."

The second man shook his head and pushed himself to walk further. "We have made it this far. You are just being delirious  
becuase we haven't had anything to drink for hours. Please, let us walk just a bit further. We will find the temple."

The third man laughed and then started coughing from his mouth being dry. "You are so foolish, Akmar. Why would such a temple be hidden this far into the desert?" He turned around again to face the two other men. "We are only walking into our deaths!" he said, walking backwards. "There is nothing--" his voice cut off suddenly when he stumbled backwards and disappeared.

The other two men looked at each other and then ran forward. They stopped just short of a huge hole in the ground. "Omar? Omar! Answer me!" Akmar yelled down. "Are you all right?" There still wasn't any response.

"We should go down to see if he's all right," the taller man said. 

"Shall we climb down?" Akmar asked. He looked up and then froze. The tall man gazed upwards and gasped. They were suddenly surrounded by cement columns. "They were not here before," the tall man said.

"It doesn't matter," Akmar said, shaking the uneasiness from himself. "Tie the ropes to the closest column, and we shall climb down and retrieve Omar." The taller man did as he was told, and in five minutes, the two men reached underground. Omar was already sitting up, rubbing his head. "Omar! Are you all right?" the tall man asked as both he and Akmar ran towards their friend.

"Yes, yes," Omar said, as the two men helped him to his feet. He looked around. "Where are we?"

Akmar shook his head. "I don't know." He squinted his eyes and tried to take in their surroundings. "It's so dark I can't see a  
thing," he murmured. He looked to his left and saw an unlit torch. He took it and asked, "Does someone have a match?"

Just as he asked the question, the torch blazed with fire. Akmar jumped and the hand holding the torch trembled. He turned to the other men, who just stared at him uncertainly. "The map. . .where does it say we are at?" he asked quietly.

Omar took the map out of his pocket. He studied it for a moment and then looked up. "We are here," he replied. The taller man leaned in to look at the map. "It's true," he confirmed. He looked around the area. All of a sudden, the hidden torches of the area lit up, making the underground as bright as the ground above them. The tall man's eyes widened when he spotted what they were looking for. "Over there," he pointed to his friends. He walked forward and placed his hands on a rectangular tomb. "This is it," he breathed. 

Omar looked at the map. "Yes, it is," he replied. "Shall we open it?"

"Of course," the tall man scoffed. "I have been walking this desert for days. I will not leave this place without our promised riches." He pushed on the cover of the tomb, but it wouldn't budge. He turned to his friends. "Come on, now," he urged them. Omar and Akmar came forward and all three of the pushed the cover off together. When the cover crashed to the ground, they all leaned in to look inside. Akmar frowned. "There is nothing!" he exclaimed.

A blast of energy erupted from the tomb, knocking the three men down. "What is--" Omar started but he froze when colorful  
patches of smoke arose from the tomb. They rose above the tomb and started escaping to the world above. The three men started screaming, not understanding what was happening. A gray-colored smoke engulfed them--and then everything went black.

***

A young, blonde-haired woman walked with confidence towards the meeting room. She took a deep breath and straightened  
her uniform, which was a black skirt with a blue long-sleeved collared shirt, bearing the name D. Mitchell on the left side of her chest. She walked in through the door and immediately the man at the head of the desk acknowledged her presence by looking up. This man was her father, in charge of the Lightspeed Aquabase, located beneath the waters of Mariner Bay.

The young woman didn't show any signs of attatchment to the man and stayed professional. She stopped at the foot of the desk, right in front of her father and went into the military position of at-ease. "Captain, something's come up," she said, addressing her father.

Captain William Mitchell raised his head slightly, as if asking a question only the two could understand. When the woman nodded her head, Captain Mitchell turned to the other personnel at the desk.

"Everyone, you're dismissed," he ordered. Without question or hesitation, the personnel got up and walked out of the room.

The woman approached her father. She looked around the room, to make sure no one was there, and when she was certain no one was left in the room she said, "Father, they've escaped."

Captain Mitchell's face turned grim. "Are you sure?" he asked.

The woman nodded and her father turned around, heading out of the meeting room. "Sensors picked up their movement just a couple of minutes ago," the young woman reported. The Captain entered another room and walked straight to a safe located on the wall. After entering the combination code and opening the safe, he took out folders and presented them to his daughter. "Dana, it's time to bring them in."

*** 

A small plane streaked through the sky, aweing those on the ground. It's pilot, Joel Rawlings, smiled and took a deep breath in, admiring the air around him. There's nothing like flying a plane first thing in the morning, he thought to himself as he did a couple of tricks with his plane. After a few minutes more, he decided to finish the show and he landed on the airstrip.

After the plane came to a complete stop, he jumped out of the plane and ran towards the crowd of people who gathered to watch his show. "Please give a hand to the ace of the skies himself, our very own Sky Cowboy, Joel Rawlings!" the announcer yelled. The crowd burst into cheer and rushed towards the handsome African-American man, his flyers in their hand.

"Now, take it easy, take it easy," Joel said confidentally to the crowd. "I'm here all day for y'all," he said, grinning.

A little boy walked up to him with hopeful eyes and a shy smile. "Mr. Sky Cowboy, will you sign this please?" he asked bashfully.

Joel grinned down at the boy. "Anything," he said, bending down and taking the piece of paper from him. He scribbled his autograph on it and said, "And one favor, little man, call me Joel, okay?"

The boy grinned and nodded his head enthusiastically. Joel looked to his left, where a beautiful brown-haired girl handed him a paper with his picture on it. Joel smiled at her and signed his autograph on it. When the girl smiled at him appreciatively, Joel grinned and winked at her. "I love this job," he said, sighing happily. He looked around quickly. "Who's next?"

"Joel Rawlings?"

Joel looked up to see two men in black suits. Before he could say anything, the one on the right said, "You're coming with us." Both grabbed Joel's arms and led him away from the bewildered crowd. "Man, what are you doing?" Joel yelled, struggling against their hold.

"We need you to come with us," came the monotonous reply.

Joel glanced quickly at both of the men and then saw the black car that was waiting for them. A blonde-haired woman sat in the backseat. "What is going on here?" Joel demanded.

The young woman got out of the car. "I'm Dana Mitchell. You have been selected to come with us to participate in an important mission," she replied.

"Mission? What the heck is this, Men in Black?" he demanded as the two men let him go.

"Just come with us," Dana said, not revealing anymore. She opened the door to the backseat and stepped aside, waiting. Joel looked at her and then the two men. He sighed frustratedly. "Hey, if forcing me to chase aliens, you'll be hearing from my lawyer," he said as he got into the car. Dana rolled her eyes as she got in and took a seat next to him.

***

"Almost there."

Kelsey Winslow grinned as she looked up. She was scaling a mountain, just like she did when she needed to be alone and work herself out. An amateur athlete, Kelsey was anything but a novice in athletics. She blew air out of the corner of her mouth, trying to push a wavy lock of brown hair out of her eyes. 

She reached down to her side and pulled out a clip. Then she reached up and attached it to another clip that was already  
inserted into the rock. She pushed the rope through, and when she felt she was secured, she climbed up.

Spider-man's got nothing on me, she thought to herself with a smile as she was just a few feet from the top. She gritted her teeth and reached from the edge with her right hand. She tightened her grip on the rock and reached up with her left hand. Pulling herself up, she left her knees bent, ready to pull herself all the way onto the rock.

"Kelsey Winslow?"

Kelsey was startled by the voice, but remembered her training and didn't budge from the rock. She looked up at the voice and saw two neatly dressed men in black suits. She squinted up at them, the sunlight bright around the mountains. Frowning, she asked, "Who in the world are you?" 

"We're here to recruit you on a mission."

Kelsey looked in the distance and saw a blonde-haired woman walking towards her. She reached down and extended her hand to her. "We need your help," she said. Kelsey didn't know what the heck she was talking about. "My help? With what?" Kelsey demanded, still on the edge of the cliff.

The woman shook her head. "I can't say here and now, but you'll have to come with us," she said, still leaving her hand extended. Kelsey reached up and grabbed her hand, allowing the woman to help her up. When Kelsey was on solid ground, she nodded uncertainly at the woman. The woman nodded back. "Good," she said and led the way to the black car parked a few feet away.

"Where shall we head now, Ms. Mitchell?" one of the men asked when they all got in the car.

"First head down to the flight pad near the marina, like where we brought Joel. Then we'll head down to Sea Life Park," she replied. Kelsey only raised her eyebrow at the information. What the heck is going on, she thought to herself as the car sped to its next destination.

***

"I hope you've all brought your umbrellas because you're gonna get wet!" the announcer over the speakers yelled. Just as he was speaking, a killer whale burst above the water, with a man standing on the top of it. As gravity pulled them back in, the man jumped off, both he and the killer whale causing a big splash of water to engulf the crowd nearest to the pool's edge.

The asian man who lept off the whale resurfaced. "Chad Lee, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer cheered, causing the audience to break in applause. Chad grinned at the audience and waved. The killer whale who had been his partner in crime swam up beside him. Chad smiled at her. "Good job, Dolly, good job," he congratulated her. Dolly just let Chad ride on her mouth. 

They rode for awhile around the pool, then Chad broke contact, swimming away to get a treat for his friend. He reached the  
deck and started to climb up to get a fish.

"Chad Lee?"

Chad looked up and saw two men in black suits. "Yes, I'm Chad Lee," he responded, frozen in his spot.

"You'll have to come with us," one said, no emotion in his voice.

"Is there something wrong?" Chad asked. He couldn't help but frown at the tone he was being spoken to. 

"Nothing's wrong," the other one replied, his tone the same as the other man. "Just come with us." They both reached down to carry Chad out, but he moved away from the deck. "I'm fine," he responded. The two men looked at each other and back away slightly, allowing Chad to pull himself out.

Dolly suddenly came swimming up to them, as if wondering what was going on. Chad reached down and grabbed a couple of fishes from the bucket. He threw three into Dolly's mouth and reached down to give her a pat on the head. "I'll be back, Dolly," he said and after taking a look around the crowded area. When they walked out of the stadium, Chad said, "Can I at least change my clothes? I'd hate to catch a cold or something."

The two men looked at each other again. When one nodded, Chad turned around and lead them to the dressing rooms. Both men stayed outside while Chad went inside to change his clothes. After dressing in black pants, a white t-shirt with a blue over-shirt, he glanced outside the door. The two men were still waiting for him.

What could they want with me, Chad thought to himself. He had done nothing wrong. Then another thought crossed his mind.  
Maybe they wanted to hurt him. They were pretty mysterious about their intentions to bring Chad where they were planning to.

Chad looked outside again and saw that the men were still standing there, oblivious to what their surroundings. Chad walked to the back of the dressing room and saw the alternate exit. He turned back again, to make sure that the two men weren't behind him, and he walked outside. When the door opened, it had hidden the person who stood behind it, but when it closed, the person was revealed.

"Chad?"

Chad jumped at the voice. He saw a blonde-haired girl about his age standing right next to the door. Suddenly he realized  
who she was. "You're with those two men, aren't you?" he asked, backing away slowly.

The woman put her hands up. "Chad, I--we're not going to hurt you. But I do need your help. Mariner Bay needs your help."

"Mariner Bay? What are you talking about? How could the city need me?" Chad asked, still apprehensive.

The woman shook her head. "I can't tell you now." She gave him a slightly pleading look. "Please, just come with me."

Chad looked her over. She didn't seem to be someone who would hurt him. . .but still. . .

"Please. I promise, we won't hurt you," the woman said, as if reading his mind. Chad looked at her for a moment, and then he slowly nodded. The woman smiled slightly. "Good," she said, turning around and gesturing him to follow her. Chad sighed as he followed the woman. What did I get myself into? he wondered as he followed her to a black car in the parking lot.

***

"I need a ladder up on that side, and another one over there! Get moving!" Trevor was yelling out orders. The other men were running around, doing as he told and some also grabbed a hold of some hoses and started trying to put out the fire. Trevor turned and spotted Carter. "Grayson, I need--"

"I'm on it!" Carter said, rushing forward. He jumped onto one of the automated ladders, heading to the third floor of the three-story apartment building. "I need to get closer! Closer!" he called down to the operator. The operator nodded back and pushed the ladder farther up the building.

Trevor turned around and ran right into two men in black suits. "Excuse me, if you're just bystanders, I need you to stand over there," Trevor said. He was about to check on one of the ladders when one of the men asked, "Are you Carter Grayson?"

"Carter? He's up on the ladder," Trevor replied, pointing upwards. The two men looked up and saw a man leaping from the edge of the ladder into the building. "He's doing his job," Trevor told the men, "and now if you'll excuse me, I've got to do mine." With that, he walked off to check on the men who were trying to put the fire out from outside.

The two men walked calmly towards Dana, who was looking closely at the dossier folder. "Ms. Mitchell, he's in the building," one of them reported.

Dana looked up at the building and then turned to the men, and nodded. "I'll catch him when he's done," she replied. She looked down at the face on the dossier and then back up at the building.

Meanwhile, Carter went through every room checking for people trapped in the building. "Hello! Hello, is anyone here?" he called out. He saw a flash of bright red out of the corner of his left eye and dodged to the right. A piece of the ceiling had gone down and it was a matter of time before the whole ceiling would collapse.

Carter pushed himself even faster to get through the rooms. "Hello!" he called out again. Then he heard something. It was a faint noise, but it was definitely something. Carter pushed through a door and saw a little girl laying on the floor, coughing. He ran to her and put a blanket around her. The girl seemed fine, just a bit frightened. "I need you to do a favor, okay?" he asked her gently. When the girl nodded, he continued, "I need you to run out of here with me. Can you do that for  
me?"

The girl nodded again and Carter smiled behind his mask. "Good." he led the way, holding onto the girl at his side to make sure she didn't faint or get left behind. As they were walking down the hallway back to the ladder, Carter saw another flash of bright red. He looked in the far end of the hallway--and froze. "What the. . ." It looked like a monster at the end of the hallway. Carter tried to focus his eyes on the image, but before he could get a better look, flames shot out at him and the girl.

"Look out!" Carter called out. Instinct took over him as he grabbed the girl and ran forward. Getting to the ladder was out of the question now. He ran through another room and gritted his teeth. There was a large window ahead of him.

"Get a catcher ready," he said into the transmitter on his helmet. Then holding the little girl tightly, Carter did the only thing he could--he jumped through the window.

***

Dana's eyes widened in concern as she watched Carter and a little girl crash through the window. Somehow, the fire crew had anticipated something like this and they were waiting on the bottom with a trampoline. Dana rushed forward, seeing that Carter needed help getting the girl stablized. She bent down and pushed Carter's arm away from the little girl and checked on her vital signs.

Carter frowned. "What are you--" he started but Dana cut him off. She kept her focus on the little girl but said, "I'm a paramedic. Don't worry, I'll take it from here." Carter was still uncertain about the situation, but he nodded and let the woman take over. "Thanks," he muttered, getting up and out of the way to let her take over.

"We need to get her to an ambulance!" Dana called to paramedics who were a few feet away. They immediately nodded to her and ran forward with a stretcher. Then Dana turned to looked at Carter, who had walked towards a firetruck. Dana turned back to the little girl. "You're going to be okay," she assured her. When the girl nodded, Dana got up and walked towards where Carter. Soot was all over the young man's face as he looked back up at the building. He's ready to go back in, Dana realized, watching his face.

She remembered seeing him around before. Usually when fires came up around the city, the paramedics would work closely with the firefighters. Dana was always awed with the way Carter worked. His tactics would usually be considered risky, but he always got the job done quickly and somehow safely. Dana didn't think he would recognize her though. He was always busy with his own duties. She surely appreciated the man's tactics and skill.

She walked forward and tentatively towards the handsome young man. Carter noticed her approaching and straightened. "I know this is a bad time," Dana said, "but I need you to come with me."

Carter frowned. "I can't just leave here," he said, narrowing his eyes slightly. 

Dana heard some movement behind her and saw the two men in black approach. They were about to move forward to seize Carter, but she held up her hands, stopping them in their tracks. Dana turned back to Carter. "I can't explain it now, but you have to trust me, because right now, Mariner Bay needs you."

"That's why I became a firefighter," Carter countered.

Dana nodded. "I know, but Mariner Bay needs you in another way," she replied. Carter was about to reply when Dana cut  
him off. "I can't explain what I mean right here and now. Just please. . .come with me."

Carter couldn't explain why, but he felt he could trust her. He looked back up at the building, and then back at the woman. He glanced briefly at her nametag. "All right, Miss Mitchell," he responded. "I'll come with you."

***

Carter looked at the woman who bore the name "D. Mitchell" on the left side of her uniform. He had recognized her as a paramedic who had been on the same calls as firefighters, but he didn't realize it until now. He had a million questions running through his mind. Why was she here? What was the purpose of her bringing him to a undisclosed location? When the woman looked up at him and noticed him staring at her, Carter turned away and looked at the other occupants in the helicopter.

To his left was a nervous Asian man in blue. He was looking down at his entwined fingers. To the man's left was an African-American man with a green shirt and a brown vest. He seemed slightly aggitated. Carter looked across from him and saw Miss Mitchell, who's first name wasn't given to him yet. To her right was a short woman with a built frame. She was wearing a black spaghetti-strap shirt with yellow straps. Carter could tell she had a laid-back demeanor from the headphones around her neck. 

Then Carter turned back to Miss Mitchell, who was watching the waters below. Carter turned in the direction she was looking in and saw a submarine on the water. He turned back to the blonde-haired girl and tried to strike up a conversation. "So tell me, we're going in that submarine, aren't we?" he asked.

She turned to him briefly and then back down to the submarine without an answer. The woman in the yellow got up and moved closer to the edge. "Excellent," she whispered with awe as she watched the submarine on the water. It seemed to be slowing down, and Carter felt anticipation build inside of him as the helicopter swung around and hovered right above the submarine.

A few minutes later, the five young people were being transported from the submarine to a location underwater. Dana held the dossiers of the four people who were standing beside her. The whole time, Carter had tried to strike up a conversation with her, but Dana refused to give any information until she was certain he was willing to do what her father had planned for him--for all of the four. It was no time to get attached--and Dana had learned in her early years the reason.

"We're here."

Dana looked up at the person who had just spoke and nodded to him. She turned to the other four. "Come on, let's go," she said, leading the way

"Charming, isn't she," she heard Joel mutter behind her and she resisted the urge to turn around and glare at him. They walked out through a side door of the submarine, built especially for enterance into the Aquabase.

As soon as she stepped onto the base, a voice sounded. "Base and authorized personnel have now entered Lightspeed Aquabase."

Carter looked up at the sound of the voice. His mouth was slightly opened at the site around him. There were computer consoles everywhere, with operators at almost every one of them. He turned his attention forward and followed Dana as she walked through doorways.

"Where are we?" Chad asked outloud to himself. Kelsey slapped him slighty on the arm. "I don't know," she said excitedly, "but it's cool, huh?" Chad just looked at her with a disbelieving look

Joel was walking further behind them with a scowl on his face. He looked to his right and saw a computer console with a bunch of buttons on them. His curiousity got the best of him and Joel reached forward to press a button. He quickly turned around to make sure no one was watching. When he was certain everyone was occupied, he pressed a couple of buttons. Alarms immediately sounded through the Aquabase. Joel felt panic enter him as he tried to correct his mistake by pressing the buttons again. Not working, Joel thought frantically as he tried to press the buttons again, this time in a backward sequence

A flash of blue to his left told him that someone caught him. He turned to see a glaring Dana Mitchell in his face. She glared at him for a couple more seconds and then reached over and pressed some buttons. All of a sudden, the alarms stopped sounding. Before Joel could respond, Dana grabbed his vest and pulled him forward.

"All right, all right! I'll be good," Joel protested as he was being pulled along. Dana turned back slightly to glance at him, and then she released her hold on him and walked ahead of Carter. They entered another door and were met by a man in in a black uniform with two stripes at his wrist. 

Dana stopped near the door's enterance and Carter walked up past her and stopped. "Welcome to Lightspeed Aquabase," the man greeted them. "I'm Captain William Mitchell."

Carter now saw the chance to ask what this was all about, but before he could get the chance, Joel stopped him in his tracks and rushed forward. "What is this all about? You know, this is illegal--this is kidnapping!"

Captain Mitchell seemed slightly amused by the man's attitude. He shrugged. "I'm not forcing you to stay here. Actually, you're all free to go."

It was just the response Joel was waiting for. "See ya," Joel muttered and spun around to exit the room.

"That is, after you hear me out," Captain Mitchell added. Before Joel could reach the enterance, two other men in black suits held up their hands and stopped him from getting out. Joel groaned as Captain Mitchell smiled slightly. He gestured towards the seat around the table. "Please, take a seat," he offered.

Hesitantly, the four newcomers took a seat. Dana walked over to her father and stood at the far end of the table, awaiting further orders. Captain Mitchell walked in front of the four. "Three thousand years ago, evil was unleashed on the world. They brought disaster and evil and then one day, a sorcerer was able to entomb them in a faraway place and stop their reign of terror." He started pacing around the room. "But a couple of hours ago, nomads crossing the desert in the middle east accidentally unleashed them back into this world. Now they have come back here, to seek vengeance and reclaim their territory in hopes of ruling the world again.

"You have been chosen--a group of young, willing adults, each with your own special talents, to help us in stopping these monsters." As he spoke, Dana had come forward and laid the four dossiers on the table. She opened each one of them as her father spoke. "Lightspeed has developed weapons from techonology, that will help you in your quest to defeat the new evil that has arisen."

Kelsey raised her eyebrow, unbelievingly. "Let me get this straight. You made all of this, so that the four of us," she gestured to the four of them seated at the table, "can defeat a bunch of angry demons?"

Dana glanced at her father to watch his reaction. Captain Mitchell nodded. "Putting it mildly, yes," he replied.

Joel's patience was already running out. "I heard you out. . .and I think you're nuts," he said, rolling his eyes. He pushed back on his chair. "I'm out of here." He got up and was almost out the door when Carter suddenly called out, "Wait a sec."

Joel stopped in his tracks and turned around. "What?" he demanded.

Carter turned to Joel. "I saw something today."

Dana frowned. "What is it?" she asked, curious. Carter turned to look up at her. "At that burning apartment, there was something. . .something in the flames. . ." Carter thought back to the moment when he thought he had seen a monster. "It was--it was one of them, one of the monsters," he said, now certain of what he had seen earlier.

Dana turned to her father quickly. "Father--" she started but then stopped when alarms rang up. She quickly went to the monitoring screen, where a headset was. Her father had followed her to the screen and took the headset her daughter offered her. "What is it," Captain Mitchell demanded.

"The city's under attack, sir," the voice on the other end said.

"Bring it up on the monitor," Mitchell ordered. Suddenly, the screen was filled with images of buildings being blasted and people being trapped by the debris. Dana watched the horror and turned to the four people she had just brought in. She felt relief enter her when she saw the concerned expressions on their faces--even Joel's. She turned back to her father and nodded.

Captain Mitchell turned around to face the four, the silent question on his face. Carter was the first to stand up. "You can count me in, sir," he said, his face determined.

Kelsey stood up next. "Me too," she replied.

Chad also got up. "I want to help," he said.

Then it was silent for a moment. The three turned to Joel glanced at them uncertainly and then back at the screen. He straightened and said, "What do we do first?"

Captain Mitchell smiled at his daughter and then moved forward. He opened the briefcase on the table and faced its contents towards the four. "These are your rescue morphers," he informed them. "It's worn on your wrists."

Each took a morpher out of the case and placed it on their left wrists, as instructed. Dana watched the four with pride and looked down into the suitcase. She frowned when she noticed something. "Five?" she questioned her father.

Captain Mitchell smiled at his daughter. "You are the fifth," he said.

"Me?" Dana asked. When her father nodded, she gazed at him curiously. "For years, I've been training you," her father admitted. He revealed another dossier--one that Dana had not seen. In it was her own personal files and a picture of herself when she had first become a paramedic. "The position is yours--if, you want it."

Dana glanced down at the morpher. All those years. . .no wonder her father had insisted she take martial arts, training her to be a paramedic. . .Dana looked up at her father and the smiled. She took the fifth morpher and walked up to her new teammates, nodding at them encouragingly.

"Good," Captain Mitchell said. "We've got work to do."

"Right," Dana said and she faced the four other rangers. "Let's go, guys," she said. She turned around and ran towards the vehicle bay. On her way there, they passed by jackets hanging on their own racks. "These are your jackets," Dana said, gesturing to the jackets. "Grab one." When Dana herself followed her own instructions, they walked into the vehicle bay. A humvee was there waiting for them. 

"Whoa," Kelsey breathed, looking the vehicle over.

Joel grinned. "Man, this is tight!" he exclaimed, running his hand along the vehicle. 

Dana reached into her pocket and took out keys. "Carter," she called to the new leader. When Carter looked up, Dana passed him the keys. "You drive," she told him.

Carter caught the keys and nodded at her. They all got into the humvee and Dana gave the technicians a thumbs-up sign. They were lowered below, to a roadway. Carter drove on the roadway and saw that it led them from the Aquabase back into Mariner Bay. He drove only through a few streets before he saw the people trying to flee for their lives. Then he noticed it--the monster. He stopped the vehicle in its tracks and watched the monster's movements.Creatures that had weird heads were running around trying to hurt people. 

Carter's eyes widened with surprised, as did the other rangers'. "Come on guys, let's help them," Carter said, giving the first order since becoming a ranger. "Right!" the other choroused. All, except Carter, got out, each running seperate ways to try and break up the attack.

Chad ran straight to the creatures who were attacking a mother and child. He jump-kicked the three who were surrounding them. When they landed on the ground, he motioned to the mother and child to go. "Get to safety!" he told them. The mother nodded and pulled her child along with her away from the horror. Chad turned back to the three creatures, who had suddenly gotten back on their feet. Chad jumped back as they attacked with weapons that appeared out of nowwhere. Suddenly, he was kicked from behind and landed on the ground.

Not too far away, Kelsey held up her hand to block an attack. She held up the other one to block another attack. They're everywhere, she thought frantically as she fought to keep up. Then she was knocked to the stairs behind her when two attacked at the same time. Kelsey grimaced when she hit the concrete. A gasp behind her made her turn around. She saw civilians standing there, frozen to the spot. "Come on, go! Now!" she yelled at them. Finally, they seemed to move. Kelsey turned back to the creatures who were still waiting for her to get up. She gritted her teeth and got back up.

Joel was having as much progress as Kelsey. He was not a skilled fighter, although he did have a couple of moves to show. But none of the moves was working, and he ended up landing flat on his back.

Dana kicked her way through some of the creatures, but wasn't being careful enough because soon two of the creatures had grabbed her arms, stopping her from moving. When she tried to break free, one kicked her in the stomach. Dana had to use all her strength just to stop from keeling over.

Carter had started the humvee again and was heading towards the monster in red. Just as he was a few feet away, the monster shot out beams that stopped Carter in his tracks. Carter whiplashed from the attack and was dizzy for a moment. When his vision cleared, the monster was right beside him. He had no time to react and the monster grabbed him on the shoulder and threw him outside of the vehicle.

Carter was thrown to a light pole, and he landed painfully on the ground. He grimaced as he looked up, trying to find the monster. Then he looked around for the other four rangers. They were nowhere to be seen. He slowly reached for the morpher on his wrist--and looked at it. There was a small button and he pressed it, hoping to get through to Captain Mitchell. "Sir, he's too strong for us," Carter said, keeping his eye on the monster as it moved away from him, satisified that Carter wasn't getting up to fight back.

"Rangers," came Mitchell's reply, "use your morphers."

Carter looked down at his morpher and nodded in response. The other four also understood the order and nodded. They ran away from their attackers for the moment and joined up with Carter, who had gotten up. "Hey you, with the hot temper," Carter called to the monster. When the monster turned around, Carter said, "You want to destroy the city? You've got to get through us first."

The monster smiled evilly. "Gladly," he said with no hesitation and moved towards the five.

"How are we exactly supposed to do this," Chad wondered as he raised his left arm.

"I saw one of the technicians demonstrate it once," Dana replied. She ran to the front of the formation the rangers had formed and clenched her fists. Then she brought her arms perpendicular to her chest, then brought out her arms so that her wrists were right over each other in an X-position, and then reached for her morpher, calling out, "Lightspeed Rescue!"

Carter watched as a flash of a pink sheild object thrust out from in front of her and slowly came back towards her. It's the same badge that was on Dana's left and right shoulder, he noticed as Dana was suddenly in the Pink Ranger's outfit. The Pink Ranger turned around to the others. "Try it out!" she encouraged them. Then she turned back to face the monster, in case it wanted to do anything while the others were trying to morph.

"Let's do this, guys," Carter said, trying to build encouragement in his team. The other three rangers nodded and followed his lead. They copied the move that Dana had just demonstrated and in separate flashes of light, they went through the morphing process.

Carter went through the morph first. A flash of red light shot out and burst out into the shape of the badge on his right and left arm. It was in a swirl of red and white and came forward towards him. Carter put his hands to the side and felt the object engulf him. When it passed him, he saw himself fully morphed in the Red Ranger's suit. A couple of seconds later, a visor shot down from his helmet, coving his face from view.

When they finished morphing, Chad held up his right arm and took a look at his new uniform. "Whoa, it actually worked!" he said increduously.

Kelsey had a more enthusiastic reaction to the morph. "This feels incredible!" she said, pumping her fists in the air.

"This is exactly what we need," Carter said. "Now, let's get to work!"

The rangers nodded. "Power Rangers, Rescue Ready," they responded together. The monster ran forward to charge them, but the team broke apart again. The pink, yellow, blue, and green rangers went off to finish their fights with the creatures with the bat-like faces, while the Red Ranger went to take on the monster himself. 

Chad fought the creatures off with ease. With the new power morphing gave him, he felt confident in fighting the creatures. He downed four of them and looked around. The other rangers were doing much better than they did in the first encounter. Then Chad turned to Carter, who blasted the monster with his blaster, knocking the monster down.

"Let's help him," Dana called to Chad. Chad turned and saw that she was also watching their new leader. Chad nodded, and together they jumped in the air and landed next to Carter. Each took out their Rescue Blasters and fired it at the monster, again knocking him to the ground.

Kelsey and Joel ran up to the three and they watched the monster. When it looked like he was still going to fight, Carter called out, "Get your rescue blasters ready."

The monster started getting to his feet, slowly. Carter narrowed his eyes. "Ready?" The rangers took out the blasters located on their sides.

"Aim. . ."

"You haven't defeated me yet, Rangers," the monster growled at them.

"Fire!"

Five blasts shot out at the monster, and struck him down. With a groan of defeat, he fell back and blew up in a blaze of fire and energy. 

"Lightspeed, power down," the rangers de-morphed. Just as quickly as they demorphed, civilians watching the fight rushed forward to congratulate the five heroes. They cheered and applauded for the five. Chad smiled, feeling comfort. It's almost like being at the park, he thought inwardly, except being an entertainer had a different outcome on the city than being a ranger. Then Chad's smile dropped when he noticed the hurt people lying not to far ahead of them. He nudged Carter and pointed to them. "What about those guys?" he asked.

Dana was already running to the hurt civilians. She bent down to check on a little boy who was hurt. She looked up briefly when she spotted firetrucks and ambulances pulling up and then looked back down. "Can you sit up?" she asked him.

The little boy shook his head. "My leg hurts," he said. Dana felt her heart swell for the little boy and she turned to the other rangers. "We've got to get these people to help," she yelled to them. Her teammates rushed forward without hesitation, and helped the firefighters and paramedics help the people to hospitals.

***

Just like out on the streets, the personnel of firefighters, paramedics, and police officers crowded around the five heroes as they walked into the Aquabase. All were modest about their victory--except for Joel, who was showing off to a couple of the young women crowding around. "Bring them on," he said confidently. "I'll show them the moves--" Suddenly he was stopped in his tracks as he bumped into Dana and Kelsey, who had also stopped in their tracks.

He looked forward and saw that Captain Mitchell was waiting for them, his face emotionless. "There is a time for celebration," he said, "but now isn't the time. You see now Diabolico knows you exists, and he'll be expecting you."

"But sir," Kelsey interrupted, "we just destroyed Diabolico." She turned to look at the other rangers uncertainly and turned back to the Captain. "Didn't we?"

Captain Mitchell shook his head. "No. That was just one of his many minions that he'll send after you. Think this battle was tough? Many of his monsters are even tougher."

Carter listened closely as their leader spoke. "You want to defeat him? You'll have to work harder," Captain Mitchell said. He turned to look at every personnel gathered. "We all do."

Dana nodded and went to the position of attention. She raised her right hand and saluted her father. The other personnel saw this moment and followed her. The other rangers glanced uncertainly at each other and followed pursuit. 

"Dismissed!" Captain Mitchell called out and immediately, all the personnel dispersed and went off to their duties. Captain Mitchell nodded at the rangers and walked off. 

Chad frowned in confusion. "Now what do we do," he asked. Dana turned to her four new teammates. "Well, as rangers, you'll all be staying here in the Aquabase."

"What?" Joel shrieked. "Stay here? Why the heck can't we stay in Mariner Bay in our own homes?" he demanded.

"It'll be easier when alerts come from the city if we're all together," Dana replied. "Now I know you all have lives, but they'll have to wait."

Carter nodded. He understood the reasoning. Then he remembered something--he couldn't believe it didn't come to mind until now. . ."Actually," he started and everyone turned to look at him, "I have someone at home."

"Wife?" Dana asked curtly. Carter almost frowned at her tone. It almost sounded like she was. . .jealous? No way, Carter thought. We had just met--why would Dana be jealous? Shaking his head, Carter said, "No, just a girlfriend. What's going to happen to her?"

Dana paused before saying, "No one will be allowed to stay here except for you four. It's rules," she said. In a more human tone, she added, "She'll have to stay at your house until you can get back." 

Kelsey shrugged. "I've got nothing. I can just pack up and go," she replied easily. Dana smiled at her openess.

Joel had his eyes at the ceiling. "I guess I can put my flying career on hold--for now." Dana raised her eyebrow and then turned to the other two. "What about you guys? Do you need me to explain this to your employers?" she asked.

Chad and Carter shook their heads. Dana nodded. "All right. Let me show you to your quarters, and then you guys can get your things from aboveground and get settled in." She turned around and led the way to the quarters.

"Think we can do this?" Kelsey suddenly asked. "I mean, be rangers?"

Carter nodded confidentally. "I'm sure we can," he said. Dana turned around to face the four. "We can do it--we just need to stay as a team," she said. The other four looked at each other and then nodded. Dana smiled briefly at them, and then turned around and started walking again. We have to win, she thought silently.

Author's notes: You like? I know, it's way similar to the actual episode, but I added some moments in that'll make a difference to the rest of the series.  
I might skip over some episodes, I might write them in. It all depends on how this plays out.  
Please R&R guys--it'll let me know if I should keep going or not. I'd love to keep going though, and I most likely will. Should I make a "next time on. . ." deal? Let me know. Next episode is the introduction of the zords--with a bit of a twist, of course.


	2. Episode 2: Breaking in New Rangers

Disclaimer: You mean you didn't take a look at chapter one? I'm shocked. . .well, it's in there. . .I swear! Okay, maybe not fully there. . .

Author's notes and thanks: At the bottom

Lightspeed Rescue: A Different Look  
Breaking in New Rangers  
By: stargazer_1017

Chad took a deep breath and gripped his duffel bag even tighter. He had gone to Sea World Park to gather his things and inform his boss of his temporary absense from the park. The Blue Ranger, he thought to himself. _Who'd ever thought? _Just yesterday, before he came to work, he was just the shy Asian kid who worked with animals. Now, he was a demon-fighting, ass-kicking Power Ranger.

He had heard of the Power Rangers when he was younger, but all the incidents were so far away from Mariner Bay that it seemed like a myth than reality. Now he actually was one.

"Chad!"

Chad looked to his left and saw a stout woman approaching him with a smile. Chad smiled back at her. "Ethel," he greeted the woman. 

"Congratulations on becoming a ranger," Ethel said, extending her hand to the man. Chad extended his right hand to the woman and shook it. "Thanks, Ethel," he said warmly.

Ethel nodded at the duffel bag Chad was carrying with his left hand. "I see you're packed and ready." Chad looked down at the bag and then back up at Ethel. "It's just for awhile," he said, trying to assure her. "When my ranger duties are over, I'll be back."

"Will ya actually?" Ethel asked. When Chad gave a questioning look, Ehtel went on, "Chad, you're a great entertainher here. One of the best, certainly. But this is a great opportunity for you--your job's still going to be here if you ever decide to come back, of course, but open yourself up to other opportunities, all right? You certainly deserve it."

Chad was slightly confused by her words, and his expression showed his emotion. "Ethel, I don't understand."

Ethel smiled at him. "Don't worry, my boy, don't worry. When the time comes, you will," she said, still not revealing anymore. She leaned forward and gave Chad a hug. "Take care of yourself, you hear me?" she said, after pulling away. Chad nodded and with a smile, he turned around and headed out of the park towards his new home, the Aquabase.

***

"Are you sure I can't come with you?" the muffled voice of a young woman with short, brown hair asked. She was walking down the stairs with a large box in her hands.

Carter didn't answer until he placed the huge box he was carrying into the back of the Rangers' humvee, which Dana informed him was called the Rescue Rover. Then he turned around carried the box from his girlfriend's hands. "Those are the rules that we go by, Adrienne," Carter said as he put the last box into the Rover. 

"So you mean there are no regular civilians in the Aquabase? _None_ whatsoever?" Adrienne asked.

Carter shrugged. "That's what Dana told me," he replied.

"Dana?"

There it was again, Carter thought inwardly. It almost sounded like the tone Dana took on when she wondered if Adrienne was my wife. "Dana's the pink ranger," Carter said aloud. "Besides, she grew up with the rules and regs of the Aquabase, so she knows more about the place than any of the other rangers."

Adrienne sighed. "Carter, I just--I worry about you, that's all," she said quietly. Carter suddenly felt guilty about being defensive. He opened his arms and Adrienne stepped into them. "I know you are," Carter said, hugging her tightly and resting his head on hers. "You don't have to worry about me, okay? I mean, the technology they've got down there is amazing." He pulled away slightly to look into Adrienne's brown eyes. "If that can't protect me, nothing on Earth will."

Adrienne stared back at him and then smiled. "All right, Red Ranger, if you say so," she said and pulled him back into her embrace, "then I'll believe you."

"That's all I ask," Carter replied as he gave her one last hug. Then he pulled away. "I've got to get going," he said, apologetically. "I have a briefing in an hour and I've still got to get this all packed in."

Adrienne nodded. "All right," she said. Carter bent down to give her a long kiss and then ran off to the driver's seat. "Hey Carter!" Adrienne called out. "Find out if you can have visitors down there."

Carter grinned at her. "Sure thing," he called back, starting the engine. He gave one last wave and drove off to the tunnel that would take him down to the Aquabase.

***

"Know what the briefing's going to be about?" Kelsey asked Dana as they walked towards the Quarters Bay of the Aquabase. Both were carrying small boxes with Kelsey's belongings in them.

Dana shrugged. "He didn't mention," she replied. The door to the room they shared opened with a swoosh and they walked in and placed the boxes on Kelsey's bed. Dana started opening the box to emtpy its contents. She raised her eyebrow ash she peered inside and shook her head. "Think you got enough equipment in here to start opening your own sporting goods store?" she asked, holding up yellow rope.

Kelsey grinned at her. "Hey, when your motto's '_Always be prepared to climb a mountain_', you'd have every available athletic equipment available in arm's reach," she replied, taking out more athletic equipment from the box she was emptying.

Dana smiled slightly and rolled her eyes. She and Kelsey didn't seem to have much in common, but she had a distinct feeling they would get along great. "What about you, Dana," Kelsey started. "What would you have in your box if you packed one?"

Dana stopped emptying the box long enough to turn and face Kelsey. "Depends where I'm going," she replied.

"What about if you were the new ranger moving into the Aquabase?"

Dana tilted her head slightly to the left, thinking about her answer. "That's a tough one," she admitted. "I mean, I've been in the Aquabase since a little girl. It's weird moving into here."

Kelsey rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "All right, how about if you were moving above ground?" she asked.

"Geez, you make it sound like I've never been above ground before."

"Dana. . ."

"All right, all right," Dana said, smiling again. "I'd definitely pack my med-books for reference."

Kelsey raised her eyebrows at the answer. "Books?"

Dana slapped her on the arm and focused her attention on emptying the rest of the contents in the box. "Yes books. . .my clothes, pictures. . ." she stopped again. "Nothing much, really."

"That's it?" Kelsey asked. She didn't know what to expect from Dana's answer--after all, they had just met yesterday. It was interesting what Dana would pack in a suitcase to move out to a new place.

Dana shrugged as she folded the now empty box up. "Everything else can be bought, I guess."

Kelsey nodded in understanding. "As long as you don't change your answer, I guess we'd win on a Best Friend Game," she joked. Dana turned to her and smiled. It was differnet to see Dana like this, Kelsey remarked inwardly. Just yesterday, she was distant and ordering. She could tell Dana probably was more sensitive than she appeared, and she hoped to make friends with the paramedic.

"Kelsey, got anymore boxes?' Dana said, breaking into Kelsey's thoughts. Kelsey nodded. "Just that last one," she replied. Dana headed for the door. "I'll head back to the loading bay to get it," she said. When Kelsey nodded again, Dana headed out. She walked through the halls expertly and turned a corner.

"Dana?" 

Dana stopped in her tracks and turned around. She saw a woman wearing the same uniform that Dana was wearing yesterday. "The community college called. They wanted to confirm your schedule change," she reported.

Dana nodded. "I'll call them back," she replied. When the woman acknowledged her response, Dana turned back forward--and bumped hard into someone. She fell to the ground, as did the necklace around her neck, which she was oblivious to.

"I'm so sorry," Carter said, quickly placing the box down on the ground. He reached forward and extended his hand to Dana. "I couldn't see over the box."

Dana took his hand and Carter pulled her up. "Don't worry about it," she assured him as she dusted herself. Carter still seemed a bit concerned. "You sure you're okay? I mean, these boxes weigh a ton--I hope it wasn't almost like a bulldozer running over you or something."

Dana couldn't help but smiling at his concern. "I'm fine, Carter," she assured him again. When Dana smiled, Carter realized that she really was okay--and he smiled back. "You know, that's the first time that I've seen you smile since I've met you," he told her.

Dana turned away slightly. "Guess you're a lucky one," she said, and turned back to him to watch his reaction. Carter grinned. "Guess I am," he replied. Then things went quiet as both thought of things to say. Dana noticed the box on the floor and asked, "Uh, do you have any more boxes to bring in?" she asked.

Carter looked down at the box at his side. He had forgotten he was carrying them in. "I've just got one more in the Rover," he replied.

"I'm heading towards the loading bay," Dana replied. "If it's not that heavy, I'll just put Kelsey's last box on it and carry it to your room." Carter shook his head. "It's pretty heavy--don't worry, I'll go back for it," he replied.

Dana nodded. "All right." She walked forward headed for the loading bay. Carter turned and watched her go, remarking at her slightly changed demeanor. He shrugged and bent down to carry the box again when he noticed a shining object on the floor. He reached over and saw it was a necklace with a ring on the chain. Must be Dana's, he thought as he got up and turned to see if Dana was in sight. When he saw she wasn't, he put the necklace into his pocket. I'll give it to her later, he thought inwardly as he picked up the box with a grunt and headed towards the room he shared with his two other teammates, Chad and Joel.

***

"So he took the Rover while I had to get a moving truck," Joel said, trying to make conversation with one of the technicians carrying a box of his. "Can you believe that?" The technician just smiled and shrugged, not saying a word. "You guys don't talk much, do you," Joel asked, as they carried the box to his room. 

When they reached his quarters, Carter was inside, emptying some of his boxes. "Well, if it isn't the leader," Joel said as they entered. Carter looked up at Joel and smiled. "Sorry I had to take the Rover, Joel. Hope you didn't mind," Carter apologized.

Joel shook his head. "Nah, don't worry about it. I got way more stuff than you to lug around with me, and it wouldn't all fit inside of the moving van," he said shrugging. He put down his box and looked around. Then he raised his eyebrow. "Please tell me you've got more stuff waiting in the Rescue Rover."

Carter looked around at the two boxes and shrugged. "Nope, just these two."

"And how do you live life doing that?"

"You don't take more than you need," Carter replied, and went back to emptying the box. Joel was speechless and then he nodded with understanding. "Oh I get it. Must be a fireman thing, huh?" Carter turned to Joel for a moment and raised his eyebrow. Then he chuckled and turned back to his box.

Joel turned back to the technician. "I've got a couple more boxes to go. We should get them here as fast as we can," he said and they both went back to the bunch of boxes stacked high in the command bay. Captain Mitchell was waiting for Joel when he got back, and he had a glare on his face as he walked in. "Joel, what are all these boxes doing here?" he demanded.

"I had no where else to put them," Joel started, "so we had to pile 'em all in here."

"_This is a Command Center_, Joel! You can't just _leave_ these around here!" Captain Mitchell pointed at a technician who walked around them to get to a computer console. "See what I mean?" he said.

"I'm trying as fast as I can, Captain," Joel said, putting up his hand to calm his new commander.

"Well work faster. We've got that briefing in two minutes."

Joel grabbed a box and nodded to the technician, who bent down to pick up another box. Captain Mitchell shook his head. "Roberts, back to your station," he ordered the technician and the technician went back to his duties without question. "But sir," Joel started before Captain Mitchell cut him off. "Joel, get going."

With a sigh, Joel headed back to his quarters alone. "Joel, get going," he mimicked Captain Mitchell. "Geez. . ." Joel obviously wasn't watching where he was going because he had bumped hard into someone and they both landed on the ground with a thud. Joel felt the anger rise in him as he said, "Next time, watch where you're--" he immediately stopped when he saw who he bumped into. A woman with a blue shirt, a black skirt, and a white overcoat was on the floor, gazing at him uncertainly. 

She groped around the floor and picked up her glasses and then focused on Joel. "Excuse me?" she asked, focusing her eyes on him.

Joel grinned. "I'm sorry, it was all my fault," he said, jumping up quickly and extending a hand to her to help her up. "I'm just moving into the Aquabase," he explained. The woman smiled. "Yes, you're--"

"I'm not a technician," Joel interrupted her, guessing what she was going to say. He held up his morpher. "I'm on a. . .secret mission."

The woman seemed amused. "Really? I'd never guess."

Joel shrugged good-naturedly. "Yeah, well," he tipped the cowboy hat on his head, "danger follows me everywhere. _Danger's_ my middle name." Joel watched the woman's reaction. At first, she looked like she was going to burst out laughing, but the expression was gone just as quickly as it appeared. Then she had a pensive look on her face. "Sounds really. . .dangerous."

"It is," Joel agreed. "But I can handle this kind of stuff." Just then, his morpher rang out, along with Dana's scolding voice. "Joel, you're late for the briefing! Where are you?" Joel, slightly surprised by her voice, started fiddling around with the morpher and when her voice wouldn't cut off, he started striking the morpher. "On my way. . .on--on my way, green ranger out."

The woman next to him started smiling. She dropped her smile when Joel looked back up at her. "I've gotta go," he told her apologetically. "Ranger duty calls. I hope that we'll. . .see each other again?" Joel asked hopefully.

"Oh, I know we'll meet again," the woman said. She gave him a serious look and leaned forward slightly. "I have a feeling it's destiny." Joel felt his heart flutter slightly and he grinned at her. "I hope so," he said, as she turned around to leave. He watched her go and then thought of something. He smiled to himself. "You sly cowboy you," he said as he walked off in the opposite direction.

***

It wasn't a place that could be accessible by humans--unless they had the power to get there, or were escorted by its residents. The Skull Cavern was hidden within a slight tear in the dimension located in the skies above Mariner Bay.  
The winged creature with black hair narrowed her eyes at her two other companions. "So what's the next plan, Diabolico," she hissed at the taller horned creature with yellow skin. 

"Be quiet, Vypra," the other creature, who was slightly chubby, said. "You're not the leader here."

"Silent you two," Diabolico warned. He paced forward, saying, "I am your leader until Queen Bansheera arrives, but we must prepare the city for her arrival." He moved towards a short column in the center of the room and waved his hand across it. An image of Mariner Bay appeared on the top. "Humans have taken the city from us. We must get it back."

"And how are we going to do that?" Vypra demanded. "With Power Rangers watching the city, we've got a battle on our hands."

"Their base is also underwater," the other creature pointed out. "And you know how much the other demons hate water."

"Only you, Loki," Vypra muttered under her breath. Loki narrowed his eyes at Vypra and turned to Diabolico. "Diabolico, will you tell this little girl to--"

"I said stop it!" Diabolico roared. "We do not need this nonsense!"

Suddenly a cry sounded and it shook the room slightly. Vypra turned around and rushed to the infant-like creature perched on top of another short column near the edge of the room. "Shh," she cooed the creature in the small basket. She snapped her attention back to the other three. "You fool," she hissed, "you know better than to disturb the child. We must watch him until the Queen returns."

"Well it's not like she'll know anything about how the kid's doing," Loki countered. "He's just a maggot."

Vypra rolled her eyes and turned back to the baby demon still whimpering. She reached into the demon's basket and held up a card. "Looks like Impus chose a demon for us to send down to the city," she said. She looked the card over and nodded approvingly. "Excellent choice too, might I add." She flew the card to Diabolico and it stopped short of his head and floated right in front of him. Diabolico narrowed his eyes at the card. _He hated the kid--everything about him. One day when the Queen returned, he would probably take over his place as leader of the minions._

"Well what are you waiting for," Vypra demanded. "Send the demon down!"

Diabolico glanced at the card again and growled. "Jinxer!" he bellowed. A tall and thin demon came running into the room. "Yes, Diabolico," he said, bowing his head for a moment.

"Impus chose a demon to send down to Earth," he said, a bit of haughtiness in his voice. "Make the maggot happy and awaken it."

Jinxer bowed his head again. "Certainly, Diabolico," he said. He grabbed the card that was floating in mid-air and started a chant to awaken the demon trapped inside of the card. He ended with, "Arise!" and the creature that was trapped inside of the card suddenly appeared. He bowed immediately. "What would you like me to do," the creature said, bowing its head. 

"There are humans who oppose our attempt to take back our city," Diabolico said, approaching the monster, "I want you to destroy the opposition. That is your only mission." The monster nodded Diabolico turned back to Vypra. "Vypra, I want you to follow Meteron and check out this. . .opposition."

Vypra narrowed her eyes. "Exactly what is the purpose of sending me down to Earth?" she demanded. "Are you asking me to--"

"Vypra, do not question my order. Do as you're told," Diabolico cut her off and turned around before she could say anything else. Vypra narrowed her eyes at Diabolico as she passed her and moved next to the demon. "I'm more than a babysitter," she hissed at him as she passed. Diabolico glared at her as she vanished in a smoke of dark purple.

***

"Think he'll be coming?" Chad asked. He, Carter, Kelsey, Dana, and Captain Mitchell were standing in the Operations Bay. Captain Mitchell seemed slightly aggitated. He spun around and the other rangers followed him. "We'll proceed without Joel," he said, walking out of Ops and walking towards another section of the Aquabase. "As rangers, you will keep the city safe from Diabolico and his minions, as well as from natural disaster," he said, as he walked forward. "This, is the weapons bay," he said, gesturing around the area. "This is where all equipment and weapons are created, tested, and maintained." The rangers watched as various weapons, like a fire extinguisher gun, to a water cannon, were being tested.

"Whoa!" Kelsey jumped out of the way as one of the weapons misfired and almost shot a laser at her. Everyone turned and Captain Mitchell said, "I guess it would be safer to wear protective gear while in the Weapons bay," he said and turned back around to lead the rangers to another room where a dark-haired woman with a white overcoat was talking with a technician.

"Rangers, I would like you to meet the woman responsible for all of the weapons we have here, to even your rescue morphers," Captain Mitchell said, walking up to the woman. She turned around and smiled at the rangers. "Rangers, this is Ms. Fairweather."

Ms. Fairweather straightened her glasses and smiled at the four rangers. "Welcome to Lightspeed," she said. The rangers smiled back at her. "As you know, Diabolico will everything in his power to stop you from getting in his way. My duty? To make sure that you stay one step ahead of him at all times." She walked over to a console with a monitor and pressed a couple of buttons. "You will have various weapons at your disposal."

Many different weapons flashed on the screen, and ended with train-like vehicles. "What are those?" Kelsey asked, curious. "These, are the Rail Rescues," Ms. Fairweather replied. 

"Rail? As in trains?"

Ms. Fairweather smiled at the simplicity of the question. "They're much more than trains, I assure you."

"What can they do?" Chad asked.

Before his question could be answered, alarms rang throughout the Aquabase. "What are those?" Carter asked, looking around. Captain Mitchell walked over to the console, while Ms. Fairweather pressed buttons on the console, which brought up a picture of the city on the monitor. "They're code alarms that tell us when the city's in danger," Captain Mitchell explained. Just then, something streaked across the sky on the monitor.

"Was that an asteroid?" Carter asked. Ms. Fairweather shook her head. "It's an meteorite," she corrected and pressed some more buttons on the console. "It's in the downtown city district," she reported.

Captain Mitchell nodded. "Guess it's your first chance to work as Rangers to deal with a disaster in the city. Get on it, people." 

"What about Joel," Kelsey inquired. Captain Mitchell rolled his eyes. "Find him and get him on your way out," he replied.

Carter turned to his teammates and nodded at them. "Let's go, guys," he said and he led the others to the transport bay.

***

Joel pushed the cash forward to the vendor. "Keep the change," he said and turned away, smelling the bouquet of roses he had just bought. "If this won't do it, nothing will," he said aloud to himself. A squealing of tires brought him out of his thoughts and he jerked his head around, trying to find out where they were coming from. He tensed, ready to reach for his morpher if the time ever came. To his surprise, the Rescue Rover swung into view, its tires still squealing.

"What the--" Joel started as the rover stopped right in front of him. "How'd you find me?" he asked.

Dana, in the passenger seat, was fiddling with some bottons on a small console right between the driver and passenger's seat. She looked up at him. "We can locate you anywhere on earth," she replied, pointing to the console.

Joel's jaw dropped and he was about to add another comment but he was cut off by Chad, who threw him his rescue jacket. "Come on Joel, something just landed in the city." Joel nodded and threw the bouquet of roses into the back of the rover and jumped in. "And why didn't anyone call me?" Joel demanded as he buckled himself in and Carter stepped on the gas.

"We did, Joel. Did you forget how to answer your morpher?" Dana asked.

"I didn't hear anything," Joel said, defending himself. Kelsey stopped the conversation by pointing forward and yelling, "There it is!" The meteorite had landed into the side of a building and was burning. Carter nodded and stepped on the brakes hard, causing the rover to skid a little as it stopped. All rangers got out and started approaching it slowly. Carter reached for his morpher. "Captain, we've reached the meteorite, but it looks harmless."

"Secure the area, Carter, and investigate further," Captain Mitchell replied. 

Carter nodded. "Understood, sir," he responded. He turned to the other rangers. "Guys, we've gotta secure the area," he   
ordered. "Kelsey, Dana you--"

"Not so fast."

Carter spun around to who had just spoken. His eyes widened when a human-like creature with wings approached them. She was glaring at the five rangers as she extended her right hand and a sword appeared. "So, you're the Power Rangers who destroyed Warilite."

"Warilite?" Kelsey demanded. "Who the heck is that?" 

"Probably the monster we destroyed yesterday," Dana replied, narrowing her eyes at the intruder. 

The creature stanced with her sword. "I promise you the others won't be as weak as he was," she said, smiling evilly. "Neither am I." Suddenly, she rushed forward with a war-like cry, heading first for Carter.

Carter was surprised at her action, but was by no means unprepared. He jumped back to avoid the slash of her sword. Then he ducked and did a floor sweep, hoping to bring this creature down, but she was smarter and faster and as soon as Carter attempted to get up, she just kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying back.

Dana rushed up to him. "You okay?" she asked, helping him up. Carter nodded, feeling the anger rise in him. "As soon as I can get her," he replied, glaring at the creature. 

Joel rushed at the creature and tried to punch her, but all she did was grab his fist and throw him off. Chad went after, and he had more success in bringing her down, but she got right back up and tried again. Chad blocked all the attacks she threw at him, but when Vypra faked a kick, she hit him in the chest with a hard punch and got him out of the way. When the rangers regathered, Vypra shook her head. "This? _You're_ the ones who are stopping us from taking back our city?" she said.

"You'll never get Mariner Bay," Kelsey yelled at her, ready to take a swing at the demon. Just then, the meteorite behind her exploded, its shockwave sending all rangers off their feet. Carter looked up and saw something emerging from the meteorite. Vypra looked back for a moment and then turned back to the rangers. "Meet Meteron," she said as the monster approached her. She turned to Meteron. "You know what Diabolico has ordered. Do it."

Meteron nodded. "As you wish, Vypra."

"Vypra?" Joel questioned as he and the rangers got up. Vypra smiled another one of her evil smiles again. "Remember the name, ranger. I promise you, it won't be the last time you see me." With that, she disappeared in a purple fog.

Meteron looked at the rangers. "Time to reak havoc," he said and thrust a meteorite that appeared in his hand at the rangers. "Look out!" Carter yelled. He and the other rangers rolled out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit by the meteorite. 

"Carter, we need to transform!" Dana called. Carter nodded, agreeing. "Let's do it then, guys." A few seconds later, the rangers had transformed into their respective uniforms. Dana turned to Carter. "There are still people trapped in the building," she pointed out. 

Carter nodded. "Yeah, I've thought of that. We'll have to split up. Chad, can you and Joel take care of Meteron?"

"You got it."

"Good. Dana, you, Kelsey and I will go into the building and get those people to safety," Carter said. When the two young women nodded, they ran quickly into the building. A flurry of people were already rushing out. "Come on everyone, this way!" Dana yelled out, pointing towards the exit. Kelsey and Carter ran further into the building and up the stairs, to see if there were still people on the other floors. Kelsey ran towards a woman who was one the floor, unconscious. "Carter! This woman's out!" she yelled. Carter ran to her and said, "I'll bring her back downstairs. You check out the other rooms." Kelsey nodded with understanding and ran off to search the floor, while Carter carried the woman in his arms and went down the stairs. Dana was running up the stairs. "First floor's secured," she reported.

"Good job," Carter said. "Help Kelsey get all the other floor secured." When Dana nodded, Carter ran downstairs and brought the woman outside. He ran into paramedics who had aleady gathered. 

"Red Ranger, you've gotta get everyone out before the building collapses," one of the paramedics informed him. Carter looked back to the building. It did look a bit shaky and it wasn't helping that the meteorite was spurting heat into the structure. "Don't worry about that. Just work on these people," Carter answered, running back into the building before the paramedic could reply.

He ran up to the second floor and was met by Dana carrying a child and a man leaning on Kelsey for support. "The building's going down," he reported. "But there's still ten stories to go," Dana pointed out. "And we can't just keep running these people downstairs."

Carter bit his lip. Dana had a point. . .everytime they brought someone downstairs, they were losing time. He looked down on his left wrist, then back up at Dana. "How do we contact your father."

"Carter, I'm here," Captain Mitchell's voice souned in his helmet. "There's a device you can press on the helmet right at your left or right ear," Ms. Fairweather's voice sounded next. "Just put your hand to it."

Carter did as instructed and asked, "Captain, there's gotta be an easier way to get these people out of here before the building collapses. What can we do?"

"Now's the time to use the rail rescues," Ms. Fairweather informed them.

"How do we do that?"

"Just call for them--they'll arrive on your call."

Carter nodded with understanding. "Rail Rescues, on track!" he called out.

"_On track_?" Kelsey inquired. "Where'd you come up with that?"

Carter shrugged and couldn't help but smile behind his helmet. "Sounded good and it worked," he replied casually. Then he got serious. "Come on, let's get these people out of here." When they reached outside, they looked up just in time to see the Rail Rescues land not to far away. "Now what, Ms. Fairweather?" Carter asked.

"There are five rescue zords inside, all designed to fit your personal skills," Ms. Fairweather explained. "Go to the train with your designated colors." Carter nodded at the other rangers and together, they ran to the Rail Rescues. 

"Carter, your zord is Pyro Rescue one," Ms. Fairweather said. "You should be pretty familiar with all the equipment on the   
zord, and also how all the consoles work.

"Chad, your zord is Aqua Rescue two. It'll provide a lot of the water support that will be needed when dealing with the demons. I'll explain that later.

"Joel, you've got Aero Rescue three. It's our aerial assault zord, so you control the skies with this zord.

"Kelsey, the Haz Rescue four deals with a lot of the challenges that any of the other zords probably won't be able to handle in tight situations.

"Dana, the Med Rescue five is also the zord that you're probably familiar with as it resembles the amublance. A lot of controls will deal with the protection of civilians you rescue, the others are for more active roles in the rescue."

"I don't think I know how to work this thing, Ms. Fairweather," Chad confessed as he took a seat in his new zord. 

"Don't worry, Chad. All zords are designed to help you and adjust to your personal attributes," Ms. Fairweather replied. "As soon as you're in the cockpit of your zord, just insert your keys into the right side of the console. The keys are located on your rescue blasters. It'll activate your zords."

Carter nodded and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing," he said, and took out his rescue blaster from his right side. He inserted it into the opening Ms. Fairweather had mentioned and all of a sudden, the zord roared to life. Carter grinned as he heard the engine. "Are you guys okay?" he asked his teammates.

"Man, this is awesome. Woo hoo!" Joel howled. Carter looked on his monitor just in time to see Joel streak across the sky right above him. "Easy, Sky Cowboy," Carter informed him. "We've gotta get this building secured. How do we get those flames out?"

Chad looked around on the console. "I've got water cannons," he informed everyone. "I'll try and use them." He reached for the shift stick and moved his zord towards the building. When he was close enough, he stopped. "Water cannons, activate!" he called out and pressed the button marked for the water cannons on the console. Chad held his breath as he waited for a response from the zord. He sighed with relief when water shot out from two cannons located on the top of his zord. He watched his progress and then said, "Carter, it's almost out. Get those people out of there!"

"Right," Carter agreed. He looked onto his console. His mouth widened into a smile when he saw what he was looking for. "Lightspeed ladder arms," Carter called out and pressed the button. Almost immediately, tall ladders with gloved hands shot out from his zord, extending to the top of the building. "I'm going after the trapped people," Carter informed them, but before he could move, something struck his zord. Meteron was still running around and had noticed that the rangers were no longer paying attention to him. "Joel, Kelsey, take care of that monster!" Carter yelled. 

"I'm on it," Joel replied, moving his zord towards the monster. "Man, this is too easy!" he said, manuevering the controls like a pro. "What idiot can't understand these controls?"

Kelsey rolled her eyes, but pushed her zord forward. "Let's see what my zord an do," she said.

Carter got outside of his zord and got into a harness. Dana suddenly appeared beside him. "I'll help you get those people out," she said, also putting a harness on herself. Carter nodded. As they were being transported to the top of the ladder arms, Carter asked Chad, "Almost got the fire out, Chad?"

"Just a few more moments," Chad replied.

"When you're done, Chad, see what you can do to help Joel and Kelsey," Carter said as he and Dana landed on top of the gloved hands at the top of the ladder arms. They jumped into the hole the arms had punched out on the side of the building and ran in. "Is there anyone still in here?' Carter asked as he and Dana scurried the top floor, looking through every door. When there was nothing, they went down each floor, checking for people who were stuck. They found five more people on the eighth floor and two on the sixth floor. Dana brought them back out to the Med Rescue to shelter them before she could bring them back to the amublances.

"Carter," Captain Mitchell's voice broke in, "the paramedics inform me that there are still three people unaccounted for."

"Three?" Carter confirmed. He was now on the third floor and he knew the second floor was cleared. There's gotta be a way to fine them and fast, he thought to himself. "You got a heat-sensor weapon I could use, Ms. Fairweather?" Carter asked.

"All of your zords have that ability, Carter," Ms. Fairweather replied. 

"Dana, use your heat-sensor equipment to find the three missing people," Carter called out to her. Dana, checking on the hurt people in her zord, rushed to her console. "I'm on it," she answered, and tried to follow the sequence of buttons that the computer brought up to do a heat-sensor search. "Almost got it. . .there! They're on the fifth floor, Carter."

Carter started climbing the stairs as soon as he got word. "Where on the fifth floor?"

Dana watched the screen as she ran a search on the exact location. "It appears to be an elevator, Carter."

"Damnit," Carter said as he reached the fifth floor. He ran to the elevator doors and tried to pry it open. He pressed the buttons on the side, but they wouldn't work. "It won't budge open," Carter called out. He slammed his fist against the door in frustration.

Ms. Fairweather had already gone a step ahead. "Carter, I've sending you the rescue bird," he informed him. Carter turned around and saw the mechanical bird swoop through the broken window and stop next to him. He pulled out a drill that was on its body. Before he could face the door, the building shook. "What the heck was that?" he asked, as the building stabilized again.

"Carter, Meteron's attacking the building. You've gotta get out of there," Chad reported.

"Not until I get these people out," Carter said with determination. He started drilling the opening between the door and worked to get the people out. "Just a bit further," he muttered as sparks flew from the contact the two metal objects had. His eyes widened under his helmet when the door suddenly budged a few inches open. It was a small opening, but enough for Carter to reach his fingers in and pull open the doors. 

Inside the doors was a mother and her two children. Carter ran over to them and knelt down so he was face to face with the coughing mother. "Are you all right?" he asked her, looking over to the two children who were also coughing. The woman nodded, unable to respond. Carter gestured towards the door and helped the mother get up. She took the hand of each child and followed the direction Carter led her in. 

"Carter!" Kelsey's worried voice sounded in Carter's helmet as he helped the mother and children onto the hands of the ladder hands. "I got them! I'm getting them out of here," Carter replied as the hands pulled back into the Rescue Zord. When he entered the cockpit of the zord, he saw Dana, ready to take the three people. "Thought you might need some help," Dana replied, carrying the youngest child, a boy. 

Carter nodded. "Thanks," he replied as he watched her leave with the three people. When she was out of the Zord, he turned his attention to the monitor and watched the progress that the other rangers were having. "Hanging in there, guys?" Carter asked.

"Very funny," Joel remarked. He was flying his zord in circles around the demon. All of a sudden, the demon swung its hand at Joel and sent him flying off. 

"Time for me to join the fight now, I guess," Carter said. "I'm coming right behind you," Dana replied and the image on Carter's monitor swung to show the Med Rescue coming into view. "But what about the injured people?" Carter inquired.

"I left them with the paramedics," Dana replied. "Thought you guys needed my help."

"All the help we can get," Carter replied back and watched as Kelsey's Haz Rescue was getting stepped on. "Uh. . .**a little help here please, guys**?" her tense voice sounded through the zord. 

"Where's Joel?" Chad asked. 

"On my way," Joel replied, rushing forward in his zord. "Man, we are _not_ winning the fight this way. We're getting manhandled!"

Carter looked down at his controls and around the cockpit. He shook his head and pressed a button on the console. "Ms. Fairweather, if there's any other weapon you want to show off now, it'd be a good time to reveal it," Carter said.

"Rangers, the Zords are your weapons," Ms. Fairweather replied. "Chad, the demons hate water--in fact, they're terrified of it. Use that knowledge to your advantage."

"Right," Chad replied, pressing some buttons and manuevering the water cannons towards the demon. The demon started firing some energy bolts at Chad as he tried to fire. "I'm getting hit," Chad called out. "I can't get the water cannons on his location."

"Joel," Ms. Fairweather called to the green ranger. "Chad needs a distraction. Fly in from slightly above the demon and start firing your cannons at him."

"I can just swoop in and fire the demon directly," Joel protested. 

"No, the demon will attack you if you get in close range. Just stay from a distance."

"Who do you think you are, anyway? I can--"

"**Just do it!**"

"All right, all right, geez. . ." Joel did as he was told and started to distract the demon from afar. Just as Ms. Fairweather expected, the demon started to take the bait and go after Joel instead. Chad worked while Joel distracted the demon and then brightened and yelled out, "Okay, the cannons are in position!" He fired the water cannons and the demon started backing away. "All right!" Chad cheered. Then the smile dropped from his face. 

"He's going to fire back!" Kelsey yelled. Sure enough, as the demon backed away, it started to create energy bolts in its hands. He hit all of the zords with separate energy bolts. 

"Auughh!" Carter shielded his face from the sparks that came erupted from his console. "We need more power!"

"Combine your zords, Rangers," Ms. Fairweather instructed.

"Just who the _heck_ are you?" Joel asked again, sounding slightly aggitated. "Nevermind that, Joel," Carter said, checking his console for instructions on how to join the megazords together. Then he saw it--"Okay guys, we've gotta shift our keys a little," he instructed.

"I got it," Chad replied, already starting. His zord started to change shape a bit, pulling in at some parts. The other zords did the same. Carter held his breath as the zords started to join each other. _I hope this works_, he thought inwardly to himself as he felt his zord join with another.

***

"You did much better than I expected," Ms. Fairweather said, smiling brightly at the group. "I'm proud of you all." The rangers were gathered at the weapons lab, at Ms. Fairweather's office--minus one ranger.

Captain Mitchell frowned and looked around the room. "Where is Joel?" he demanded. Carter looked around and shrugged. "He was with us just a minute ago, sir," he replied.

Ms. Fairweather shook her head and turned to Captain Mitchell. "If there's nothing else, I have to get back to work, Captain. Some of the Zords need maintenance work on them." Captain Mitchell nodded and turned to the rangers. "You're dismissed," he ordered them. The four rangers nodded and walked out of the office.

"Man, that was awesome!" Kelsey cheered as the four walked towards their quarters. "I can't believe we made it!" Dana raised her eyebrow slightly. "You didn't think we would?" she asked.

Kelsey shrugged and turned to her. "It's not that I didn't think we would. . .but I thought we were just going to get more bumps and bruises than we did back there." She turned forward and saw Joel walking towards them with roses in his hand. "Joel, where were you?" she asked him.

Joel didn't respond. Instead, he just walked forward and kept his eyes straight. "Joel?" Chad called to him as he neared the group. Joel still had his eyes forward and didn't seem to notice the group. Chad turned to Carter. "Where's he going to?" he wondered aloud. Carter shrugged. "Let's find out," he suggested with a gleam in his eye. He turned and quietly followed behind Joel, with the other three rangers in pursuit.

They stopped beside a wall alongside the hallway leading back to Ms. Fairweather's office. Craning their necks out so that only their heads would be seen, and not their bodies, they watched as Joel walked into the office and tapped Ms. Fairweather slightly on the shoulder and brought out the bouquet of roses. "Is he doing. . .what I think he's doing?" Dana asked.

"I didn't even know they had met!" Chad said. "From the way he talked to her during the battle with Meteron, it sounded like he didn't even trust her own opinion." Then they went silent as Joel also handed her a piece of paper. He started to talk to her and make gestures with his hands as he talked. All of a sudden, Ms. Fairweather turned around, a different expression on her face. She started talking calmly, and then all of a sudden her voice became louder and louder. She jabbed Joel in the chest with her index finger, making him take a few steps backward. With her last word, Joel tripped on something on the floor and fell down.

Kelsey burst out laughing. "Good one!" she said, looking up at Chad, who was right above her. Dana was much more quieter in her reaction and covered her mouth to muffle her laugh. Unfortunately, Joel heard their commotion and turned to look at them--then looked back up at Ms. Fairweather after she threw the roses onto his head and stormed out of the other door of the office.

Joel scrambled to his feet and approached the rangers. "You mean she. . .Ms. Fairweather. . .morphers. . ." he tried, unsuccessful at completing his sentence.

"What?" Carter asked. "What are you trying to say?"

Joel shut his eyes and then opened them again, this time his voice eerily calm. "Ms. Fairweather. . .was she the one who designed our morphers and zords?" 

Dana raised her eyebrow. "You mean you didn't know?"

"**NO, I DID NOT KNOW!** Next time, will one of you kick me or something? I made a complete fool out of myself in there," Joel scowled.

"Will you put that in writing?" Kelsey asked. Joel glared at her as the other rangers laughed and surrounded him, each giving him sypmathetic pats on the back. "Looks like she clipped your wings this time, Sky Cowboy," Kelsey grinned at him.

**Author's Notes:** All right, it was almost like the second episode, but a slightly bit altered. As you can see, I got into some parts of the zord arc--but not all. I'm not really familiar with the arsenal that the rangers have, so I'll most likely only go into the battles instead of the zords, unless the zord scene is really important.  
I realized when making the episode list for this series that it's going to be AU--that's right, alternate universe. I will most likely not follow the season itself. Why? Because it didn't really give us anything. I really felt that the other rangers, besides Carter, really got underplayed. Their personalities could've been really brought out, but instead, it wasn't fully developed. This series will take you into their personalities--some different (like how Chad's one will be), but some the same (like Joel). I can guarentee you, the next episode will be way different than what was on the show. It'll be slightly the same, in terms of plot, but will go differently.  
Oh yeah, and anyone know any demon names? I'm so terrible at getting demon names, as you can already tell. . .  
**Thanks to**: Rach--You're awesome, girl ;-) Thanks for your input into the series. As you can see, I've stuck with the third person omniscient--I think I'll keep it that way. But thanks so much for the civilized way you've pointed out some things to me. I hope I have your blessing to go into the series this way!


End file.
